My name is Mahamat Saddam, current engineering student at the City College of New york and majoring in Civil Engineering.

My first bachelor degree was in Engineering Science at the International Institute of Engineering. The International Institute of Engineering is the most reputable engineering institution in Africa, and is the only one whose diploma is recognized in Europe.  It is very selective and their students place well in many renowned international innovation competitions.  For example, the FASO SOAP project won the first prize at the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) in 2013 in addition to other international awards. This environment of high achievement and excellence instilled the desire of innovation in me.

Entering a civil engineering program was a natural decision for me.  In the last semester of our Bachelor’s degree program, two other students and I had a final project which required us to conceptualize all elements of a four-story building, including the columns, beams, ceilings, stairs, etc.  Taking geotechnical considerations into account, we provided plans for electricity and sanitation, in addition to all the structural elements of the building through 3D computer modeling.  This project required four weeks of consistent grueling effort, and our small three-person team was recognized as having one of the best concept reports out of all of the projects. It gave me a deep sense of confidence and an eagerness to pursue further creativity.

I am fortunate to have had considerable real-world experience in my field. I worked as a highway construction inspector in N’djamena, Chad, under Comete Engineering Company. Inspections were mainly focused on geotechnical studies and the topography of two roads, 7km and 5km in length. Another source of real-world experience occurred in Burkina Faso, under the European-African Company of Industrial Construction (CERI), where I was a technician intern helping to build the biggest cement manufacturing plant in West Africa.  Participating in the construction of such a titanic project made me feel like I was on the right path.  It confirmed my calling, so to speak: “I felt like this was what I was made to do”.